Product display with improved pull-through frame arrangements

ABSTRACT

A display tray for specially shaped packages (e.g., sliced meat products), having flat, flexible bases and a forwardly projecting housings for the product, typically, typically with recesses in the base to accommodate nesting. A vertical frame at the front, permitting the product housing to project through while normally retaining the base and while also allowing the base to be pulled through by a customer, is known. The new tray positions this frame a sufficient distance behind a front stop of the tray to enable a customer to replace a pulled-through product into the tray, in front of the frame and a product projecting through the frame. To particular advantage, the thus-positioned frame is incorporated into a special tray insert, easily installed in a general purpose tray to accommodate the described, specially shaped packages, and easily removed from the tray to render it more suitable for the display of general merchandise.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In the store display of small product items, it is a common practice to provide display trays arranged to receive a plurality of product items in a front-to-back column, with a spring actuated pusher paddle at the back of the column arranged to automatically move the column forward each time a product item is removed from the front of the display. This makes for a more sales-attractive display, by keeping the merchandise always available at the front of the display where it is easily seen and easily removed.

In the case of some products, such as packaged sandwich meats, for example, the product (e.g., a plurality of slices of sandwich meat) is received in a plastic pocket, typically of cylindrical shape, which is mounted on a rectangular base, also typically of plastic material, forming a sealed package. Products of this type tend to be difficult to handle in push forward type display trays. Accordingly, it is known to provide such trays with a package supporting and dispensing frame at the front end of the tray, which allows the product-containing pocket to project through the frame, while restraining the somewhat larger base portion of the package. Customers can extract packages from these displays by gripping the forwardly projecting pocket and pulling forward. The base part of the package, which is somewhat flexible, flexes sufficiently to allow it to pass through the opening in the frame and be removed by the customer. The next package in the column is then moved forward by the pusher paddle, and its pocket projects forwardly through the frame.

One of the problems with known display trays of the type mentioned above is that, whenever a customer removes a package and then changes his or her mind (a not infrequent occurrence), dealing with the removed but unwanted package presents a problem. There may or may not be space to set it on top of the display, depending on what displays or structures there may be directly over head. In the end, the customer may just place the package in an improper location, wherever space can be found.

Another disadvantage of known display trays of the type described is that they tend to be single-purpose units. In this respect, while suited for display and dispensing of the particular type of product described above, the conventional trays are largely or at least somewhat unsuitable for dispensing of other products.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

In accordance with one aspect of the invention, a new and improved form of product dispensing tray is provided, which is particularly useful for the display and dispensing of food and other products, packaged as described, with a pocket projecting forwardly from a flat and somewhat larger base element. In the improved tray of the invention, a supporting and dispensing frame element, accommodating the forward projection of a product pocket while restraining the base portion of the package, is positioned at a point spaced rearwardly of a front barrier element provided at the forwardmost extremity of the tray. The frame is spaced rearwardly a distance which corresponds to the forward projecting portion of a package received in the frame, plus at least the full thickness of one package. Accordingly, whenever a customer withdraws a product package through the frame and then has a change of mind about the product, the withdrawn product can be reinserted into the front of the display tray, in the space between the front barrier and the package which has just been advanced into the frame by reason of the pushing action of the tray. The returned package stands upright in the display, at the front thereof, and is in all respects available and ready for selection and extraction by a subsequent customer. A customer who has had a change of mind does not have to hunt for a place to lay down the unwanted product item, and the storekeeper avoids a potential losses resulting from defacing or damaging of the product resulting from the customer discarding it in an unsuitable location.

An additional and especially advantageous feature of the invention resides in the construction of a display tray of the type and having the features mentioned in the preceding paragraph, in which the supporting and dispensing frame and the desired positioning of the frame is accomplished by means of a novel and advantageous form of tray insert. The arrangement is such that the tray itself can be of multi-purpose design, suitable for handling of special packages with forwardly projecting pockets, and for other, more conventional package forms, such as typical boxes, bags, etc. The tray itself may be of a universal design, suitable for a wide variety of products. However, by placing an insert according to the invention in the front portion of the tray, it is automatically converted to a tray with a supporting and dispensing frame as described above and with the desired open spacing at the front to accommodate a dispensed but unwanted product. This is an important advantage to the storekeeper and manufacturer alike in enabling wider usage of a standardized (and therefore more economical) form of tray, which can be modified for special-purpose usage by installation of a removable insert.

For a more complete understanding of the above and other features and advantages of the invention, reference should be made to the following detailed description of preferred embodiments thereof, and to the accompanying drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a product display tray incorporating a spring-driven pusher paddle and a supporting and dispensing frame positioned in rearwardly spaced relation to the front of the tray, providing space for the return of a product extracted through the frame but later determined by the customer to be unwanted.

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the structure of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view as taken generally on line 3-3 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of an advantageous form of special insert which is removably positioned in the tray structure of FIG. 1, providing the positioning and dispensing frame and the desired spacing thereof from the front of the tray.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the frame insert of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a view, partially in section, illustrating certain types of product packages provided with forwardly projecting packets, and indicating how such packages may partially nest within each other when stacked up in a horizontal column for dispensing in a tray such as illustrated in FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring now to the drawing, the reference numeral 10 designates generally a preferred form of product display tray in which the features of the invention are advantageously incorporated. Features of such display trays are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,745,906, 6,866,155, 6,866,700, 6,889,855 and 7,032,761, and the disclosures of these patents are incorporated herein by reference. In the illustrated form of tray, shown best in FIGS. 1 and 2, there is a base formed of four longitudinally extending wires 11-14. These longitudinally extending wires are joined at their back edges by a rear cross bar 15. At the forward end of the base there is a front cross bar 16 which is fixed to the forward ends of the two internal wires 12, 13 and is fixed to the outside wires 11, 14 adjacent the forwardmost end portions thereof. In the illustrated tray, the forward extremities 17, 18 of the outer wires 11, 14 are bent upwardly and are arranged to be received in opposite side sockets 19 of a front barrier member 20. The barrier member serves as a front stop for the display rack, and also provides a front surface for carrying labels and/or printing identifying the product carried by the tray, its price, etc.

The front and back cross bars 15, 16 are received in plastic supports 21, 22 respectively, preferably by being snapped into upwardly facing grooves 23, 24 provided on the upper sides of the supports 21, 22. The supports 21, 22 are provided with pairs of parallel transverse passages 25 which receive transversely disposed portions 26 of side guide elements 27, 28. The side guide elements are shown in their minimum width positions. The transverse elements 26 thereof are frictionally slideable in the passages 25 to enable outward adjustment to accommodate packages too large for the minimum configuration.

As described more fully in the above mentioned patents, the illustrated form of display tray includes a pusher paddle 29, which is slideably engaged with the wires 11-14 and is constantly urged toward the front of the tray by means of a coiled spring 30 positioned between front and back panels 31, 32 of the pusher paddle and having a strip portion 33 extending forward and anchored in the forward tray support 22. The spring 30 constantly urges the paddle 29 forwardly, to advance product items 34 toward the front of the tray.

The tray 10, as described to this point, is generally known and does not, per se, form part of the invention. Moreover, in the broadest aspects of the invention, a wide variety of product displays, incorporating arrangements to keep product items at the front of the display, may be used, with modifications to be described, to perform the functions of the invention.

For the display of certain products, and by way of example certain sandwich meat products, such as baloney, salami and the like, packages such as shown in FIG. 6 are often employed. These include a base member 35, formed of flexible plastic, or perhaps flexible cardboard, joined with a forwardly projecting housing 36, which is commonly but not necessarily of cylindrical form (FIG. 3) and provided with a flat front face 37. Frequently, the base member 35 is formed with a displacement 38, forming a central recess 39 in its back surface. The shape and size of the recess is such as to receive an outer portion of the product housing 37 of an adjacent package, as illustrated in FIG. 6. This provides for more convenient handling and stacking of a plurality of the packages, as will be appreciated.

To facilitate separation and dispensing of individual product package, from a series of such packages nested in the manner shown in FIG. 6, it is known to provide a frame at the front of the display tray, the internal dimensions of which are such as to allow the product housing 37 to project through the frame, while the base 35, which is somewhat larger than the frame, is engaged adjacent its outer periphery and restrained. To dispense a product, the forwardly projecting housing 36 is engaged by the customer and pulled forward. The base 35 is designed with sufficient flexibility as to allow the package to be drawn forwardly by rearward flexing of the edges of the base. After the package has been withdrawn, the forward pressure of the pusher paddle 29 advances the product column, positioning the next product in the column within the frame, generally in the manner shown in FIG. 1.

One of the disadvantages of this arrangement, in its previously known form, is that customers often extract a package on impulse, and soon thereafter change their mind and want to return the package. With conventional arrangements, there is no convenient way to return a package to the display. Accordingly, a customer, even with the best of intentions, may place the extracted package in some location where it becomes neglected and disfigured or damaged so as to be unsuitable for sale to another customer.

In accordance with a broad feature of the present invention, a restraining frame 40 preferably in the form of a wire configured in the shape of an inverted U, including a horizontally disposed upper element 41 and vertically disposed side elements 42, 43, is positioned on the tray 10 at a location that is spaced rearwardly of the front of the tray by an amount which equals or exceeds the sum of (a) the amount by which the housing 37 projects forwardly of the frame, and (b) the full thickness of at least one package. The arrangement is such that, where a customer has extracted a package from a display as shown in FIG. 1, and the next package has been pushed forward through the frame 40, there remains in the front portion of the display sufficient space that a customer may return an unwanted package by simply placing it in the available space at the front of the tray. The package so placed has the appearance of a normal package and is conveniently displayed at the front of the tray for removal by a subsequent customer.

In the broadest sense of the invention, the frame 40 may be constructed as a fixed part of the display tray, as by welding the side elements 42, 43 to the outside longitudinal wires 11, 14. However, this construction while functionally satisfactory, tends to limit the usefulness of the display tray by making it a special purpose tray, ideally suited for the dispensing of packages as illustrated at 34, but being less efficient for the display of other packages, where the presence of the frame might unnecessary limit the forward positioning of the front product to a location behind the frame, without any resulting benefit.

Accordingly, as another feature of the invention, the frame 40 is incorporated into a tray insert unit, which may be inserted at the front of an otherwise standardized display tray to provide the desired restraining frame and the desired positioning thereof for the display of packages such as illustrated in FIG. 1. For the display and dispensing of other products, packaged in more typical boxes or bags, the frame insert may be removed from the display, returning it to a standardized form of universal utility. Such an insert, generally designated by the numeral 48, is illustrated separately in FIGS. 4 and 5 of the drawing and as installed in the tray in FIGS. 1-3.

In the form of insert shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the side elements 42, 43 of the frame are welded at lower end portions thereof to forwardly extending wire pairs 44, 45, which typically may be secured by welding. The wire pairs 44, 45 extend in parallel relation and are spaced apart vertically by a distance substantially equal to the diameter of the outer tray wires 11, 14. The horizontal spacing of the wire pairs 44, 45 is substantially equal to the horizontal spacing of the outer tray wires 11, 14.

At their forward ends, the wire pairs 44, 45 are connected by a front bridging element 46, which serves to space the wire pairs 44, 45 both vertically and horizontally at their front extremities. In the illustrated form of the invention, the bridging element 46 is formed with a rearwardly and downwardly inclined tongue 47 in the central portion thereof. The bottom of the tongue overlies the forwardly extending portion 33 of the spring 30. The inclined portion of the tongue 47 and the horizontal portion of the bridging element can serve to prop up the projecting portion of a loose package replaced inn the tray by a customer who has changed his or her mind.

As will be appreciated, the insert 48 can be produced with different frame dimensions and different lengths of the wire pairs 44, 45, in order to accommodate packages 34 of different configuration. This is an additional advantage of the use of an insert, rather than a built-in frame.

To install the insert, it is simply pressed downward over the outer tray wires 11, 14, deflecting those wires laterally inward to accommodate the passage of the lower wires 44, 45 of the insert. For this operation, it is advantageous to initially position the insert in a mid area of the wires 11, 14, where they can be easily deflected inward. After installation over the wires 11, 14, the insert 48 can be slid forward on the wires 11, 14 until forward portions of the insert engage the front support 22, as reflected in FIGS. 1 and 2.

To advantage, the upper wires 44 of the insert are formed with inward projections 49. These serve to provide a positive limit stop, to facilitate installation of the insert over the wires 11, 14. Once installed, the frame insert 48 is firmly positioned on the tray wires 11, 14, in the position shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, and remains effectively fixed in the frame while packages 36 are pulled through the frame 40 by customers.

Although the particular style of display tray and frame insert illustrated and described herein are preferred and advantageous, various styles of display trays and various forms of frame inserts may be utilized within the broadest concepts of the invention. Accordingly, reference should be made to the following appended claims in determining the full scope of the invention. 

1. In a product display tray particularly for the display of product packages having a forwardly projecting product pocket and a surrounding flange of flexible material, the tray being of the type comprising a bottom structure, a spring-driven paddle movable over said bottom structure and urged toward a front of said display tray for urging displayed product packages toward the front, and a front stop element positioned at the front of said tray to limit forward movement of items supported on said bottom structure, the improvement which comprises (a) a product supporting and dispensing insert removably mounted in a forward portion of said tray, (b) said insert comprising a frame defining a generally vertical frame opening for receiving the forwardly projecting pocket of a product package, (c) said frame opening being smaller than the surrounding flange of said package while of a size to enable said flange, when flexed, to be pulled forwardly through the opening, (d) said insert including spacer means extending forward from said frame for positioning said frame a predetermined distance rearwardly of said stop element, (e) said predetermined distance being greater than the forward projection of a product pocket through said frame by an amount sufficient to accommodate a pull-through removal of a product package positioned in said frame.
 2. A product display tray according to claim 1, wherein (a) said predetermined distance is greater than said forward projection by an amount at least equal to a front-to-back thickness of a product package, whereby a product package may be placed loosely in said insert, in a generally upright orientation, forwardly of a package projecting through said frame.
 3. A product display tray according to claim 1, wherein (a) the bottom structure of said display tray comprises a plurality of spaced-apart wire elements extending in a front-to-back direction, and (b) said insert comprises support elements shaped and sized for a snap-over fit onto outermost ones of said spaced-apart wire elements.
 4. A product display tray according to claim 3, wherein (a) said support elements also comprise said spacer means.
 5. A product display tray according to claim 3, wherein (a) said insert is of wire construction, (b) said support elements comprise upper and lower wire elements on each side of said insert, (c) said upper and lower wire elements are positioned in parallel relation and spaced apart vertically a distance to receive between them one of said outermost wires of said tray.
 6. A product display tray according to claim 5, wherein (a) said frame comprises a wire section of generally inverted U-shaped configuration having lower end portions fixed to rearward portions of said upper and lower wire elements, and (b) said upper and lower wire elements at both sides of said insert are connected together at forward ends thereof by a front connector element extending across said bottom structure.
 7. A product display tray according to claim 6, wherein (a) said front connector element is formed of wire and is of a generally inverted U-shaped configuration having an transversely extending upper element spaced a short distance above said bottom structure.
 8. A product display tray according to claim 6, wherein (a) a strip spring extends from said movable paddle to a front portion of said tray to urge said paddle forwardly thereon, (b) said transversely extending portion of said front connector element includes a tongue element extending from a central upper portion of said connector element and disposed at an angle extending downwardly and rearwardly, (c) a lower extremity of said tongue element positioned in overlying relation to said strip spring, and (d) upper portions of said tongue being positioned in spaced above relation to said bottom structure for engagement and support of forwardly projecting portion of a product package placed loosely in said insert, in front of a package restrained by said frame.
 9. A removable insert for a product display tray, for the display of product packages having a forwardly projecting product pocket and a surrounding flange of flexible material, where the tray has a bottom structure comprising at least two laterally spaced, longitudinally extending wires, a pusher paddle slideable along said bottom structure, a spring urging said paddle forwardly along said bottom structure, and a front barrier structure positioned adjacent a front of said tray, said insert comprising (a) a wire frame member of generally inverted U-shaped form defining a frame opening of a size larger than said forwardly projecting pocket and smaller than the surrounding flange of said package while of a size to enable said flange, when flexed, to be pulled forwardly through the opening, (b) a pair of vertically spaced apart, forwardly extending wires fixed to said wire frame at each side thereof and spaced for a snap-over fit with the laterally spaced wires of said bottom structure, (c) a connecting wire joining front portions of said pairs of vertically spaced wires, (d) said insert being adapted for snap-over mounting on, the front portion of said product display tray to position the frame member at a location spaced a distance rearwardly of the front of said tray.
 10. An insert according to claim 9, wherein (a) said distance is greater than a forward projection of said product pocket by an amount at least equal to a front-to-back thickness of a product package, whereby a product package may be placed loosely in a front portion of said insert, in a generally upright orientation, forwardly of a package projecting through said frame.
 11. In a product display tray particularly for the display of product packages having a forwardly projecting product pocket and a surrounding flange of flexible material, the tray being of the type comprising a bottom structure, a spring-driven paddle movable over said bottom structure and urged toward a front of said display tray for urging displayed product packages toward the front, and a front barrier element positioned at the front of said tray, the improvement which comprises (a) a product dispensing frame mounted in a forward portion of said tray, spaced rearwardly of said front barrier element, (b) said frame being vertically oriented and defining a frame opening for receiving the forwardly projecting pocket of a product package, (c) said frame opening being smaller than the surrounding flange of said package while of a size to enable said flange, when flexed, to be pulled forwardly through the opening, and (d) said frame being positioned a predetermined distance rearwardly of said barrier element, (e) said predetermined distance being greater than the forward projection of a product pocket through said frame by an amount sufficient to accommodate placement of a loose product package between a product pocket projecting through said frame and said front barrier element.
 12. The improvement of claim 11, wherein said frame comprises a frame insert removably positioned in said tray.
 13. The improvement of claim 12, wherein (a) said product display tray comprises a plurality of longitudinally extending wire elements forming a support for bottom edges of said product packages, and (b) said removably positioned frame is arranged for snap-over attachment to certain of said wire elements.
 14. The improvement of claim 13, wherein (a) said frame insert is formed substantially of wire and includes a frame portion of generally inverted U-shaped configuration and at least one wire element extending forwardly from each side of said frame portion, from bottom portions thereof, and serving to space said frame portion rearwardly of said front barrier element.
 15. The improvement of claim 14, wherein (a) said tray bottom structure comprising a plurality of longitudinally extending wire elements for supporting bottom edge portions of product packages, (b) said at least one wire element comprises a pair of vertically spaced apart, longitudinally extending wire elements arranged for snap-over mounting on outer ones of the longitudinally extending wire elements of said bottom structure, to engage said outer ones in straddling relation. 